The Greater Boston Food Bank

To develop your ability to “Inspire Evangelists” from the book Forces for Good: The Six
Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits as your reference, Chapter 4.
Please write 3-4 page Reflection Paper about the leadership experience. add to what is
bellow.

On March 5, we decided to volunteer for three hours at the Greater Boston Food Bank in
Boston. Our job involved moving food boxes from one corner to another. The job was exciting,
but we realized that if we had a bigger team, we would move more boxes. It was my birthday,
and I wanted to volunteer and make a good impact in our society. I informed my team members
that instead of receiving gifts, I would give some gifts to the needy people in our community.
The aim of using my birthday time and resources to help the needy was intended to motivate
other young people to volunteer in the community service. I was glad that my action inspired ten
young people who were interested in volunteer work at GBFB. However, I informed the new
members that volunteer service requires commitment and hard work.
The following week I helped the new members to enroll at the Greater Boston Food
Bank. Both teams worked well, and my leadership skills inspired them. I made sure that a
discussion meeting was held for all the members before we embarked on our tasks. Group
meetings are productive and help members to discuss various problems encountered in the line of
duty. As the group leader, the group meetings provided me with an opportunity to discuss with
the team members the challenges affecting the group. Several discussion meetings were
organized to improve our team members’ experience. At first, I discovered that the team
members were enthusiastic about the group discussions. However, I noted that as the discussion
meetings continued, one individual dominated the group discussions and challenged others. As
the team-leader, I informed the group that each person had an equal opportunity to contribute to
the meeting discussions without fear. I made sure that each member maintained a high level of
discipline and commitment.
The team members were grateful for the volunteer experience, and many promised that
they would return to offer more volunteer services after completing their term. As the leader, I
also learned a lot from this project and improved my leadership skills. However, if the project

The Greater Boston Food Bank 2
were repeated, I would organize induction training before volunteers are deployed in their tasks.
Induction training are more efficient as they provide volunteers with an opportunity to learn
more about the organization’s culture, mission, and goals. Furthermore, induction training helps
to improve volunteer’s social relation skills that are essential components of volunteer service
and teamwork. However, in three hours only with 25 people in our shift we sorted 7348 pounds
of food. So each person sorted 294 lbs. 

             If we calculated it, It means that we offered 208 meal per person. The family of four
people can consume 4368 meal per year, and we covered that number and more. We went to
5200 meal per year which more than the estimated. So proud of my team and the work we did.
Definitely, will redo it again and again.